The Volvo EX30 is one of the most intriguing new cars to arrive in 2024… err, make that 2025. Volvo has announced that its affordable electric SUV “will be delayed while we ramp up production at our plant in Ghent, Belgium, with a 2025 target delivery date to be announced.”
The EX30 is an all-new subcompact electric SUV. It impressed early reviewers with its 3.4-second 0-60 mph sprint, smart interior, and enticing balance of range (up to 275 miles) with price (around $35,000, plus shipping).
It’s poised to bring Volvo’s Scandinavian style to a new demographic as a genuinely low-cost electric vehicle (EV).
Delay Due To New Tariffs
But it’s going to be late. Volvo says the delay is “due to changes in the global automotive landscape.”
That likely means tariffs. The EX30 is one of the few vehicles automakers build in China and ship to the U.S. for sale. The Biden administration recently enacted a 100% tariff on Chinese-built EVs. Early reports suggested Volvo might have a workaround for doubling the price – companies that both export and import cars can sometimes coordinate tariff refunds. But Volvo appears to have concluded that the correct answer is to simply build the car outside China.
Tooling up a factory for that will take time.
But Volvo has a solution for those who have pre-ordered an EX30.
Volvo Will Offer Help With Bridge Lease or Discount
A Volvo spokesperson tells Kelley Blue Book the company is “offering EX30 depositors a $2,500 loyalty bonus that can be used to lease or purchase a new electric Volvo car, or $1,500 toward a lease or purchase of a PHEV [plug-in hybrid electric vehicle] or MHEV [mild-hybrid electric vehicle] model. This can also be applied to a special short-term lease until their EX30 arrives.”
The lease offer would seem to exclude other Volvo EVs like the C40 and XC40 Recharge. But almost the entire Volvo lineup beyond that is eligible. Most of the cars are larger and more luxurious than the EX30. But depositors might not mind driving one on a bridge-the-gap lease if Volvo is making the first $1,500 in payments.
